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2015

Programme 2015

Panel 1 – Comparing the Market – Never ending touring opportunities
A never ending discovery of new markets and opportunities, this panel has become the start of many exciting connections and tours. Receiving feedback from several people in the industry sharing their great experiences of the shows in all these relatively new places to perform has helped consolidated this panel’s position as the opener of the day.
Not only are UK based acts penetrating countries and audiences previously thought unable to be entertained by English language shows, local Comedy scenes are developing and this multilingual talent is finding their way to audiences worldwide. The discussion is open; we welcome success stories and bold plans from the panel as well as from the creative entrepreneurs in the room.

Panel 2 – Production values in Comedy – Do’s, Don’ts and musts
It’s essential at every level of show, part of every budget, yet sometimes the execution is better than others. How to produce the perfect Comedy show? From backdrop, via comfortable seating to the perfect sound for everyone in the room, pub or arena – the show must go on and it must be safe. A good experience will encourage the act and the audience to come back.
Between them our panellists have seen or worked in a vast range of venues and events worldwide. We expect lively tales, tips and top secrets and of course contributions from everyone in the room.

Panel 3 – The Brand, The Artist, The Venue, The Festival – Identity, value and endorsements
In the old days it was relatively simple – TV exposure was a great way of getting regional venues to book comedians, venues were called by their name and a website review would stay up for years and dominated a web search. Maybe not all ideal, but it was pretty transparent. Now things are a bit more complicated. YouTube has transformed into almost mainstream and worldwide distribution, venues/festivals/awards/ competitions are called by their sponsor name and everybody can tweet their opinion into an instant review.
How difficult is it now to develop a brand and control it? If you look at the Comedian as the core brand, with the right management a marketing strategy can be planned. Who is responsible for and involved in the execution of these plans? What is the value of a brand, how to measure this and how to protect it when things go wrong or bad press in generated? How can endorsements and partnerships help lift all parties to a commercial success? We have a panel of experts and a room full of experiences to debate all this. Will 90 minutes be enough?

Panel 4 – The Comedy genre at large – Stand up and so much more
At the Comedy International Conference the focus has mainly been on Live Stand Up Comedy, dipping in and out of related genres. In this final panel of the day we would like to discuss the broader market, including genres such as Sketch, Character Comedy, Stage Plays, Improv, Variety / Cabaret, Ventriloquism or Silent Comedy. In the UK Variety is currently going strong, with shows often including a stand up act on the bill. In parts of continental Europe there is still and strong Klein Kunst tradition alongside the relatively new Stand up scene and despite the rapid spread of English as a second language non-spoken Comedy is sometimes easier to break in a market. We would like exchange our knowledge in how these genres interact with Stand up, discuss how audiences developing an interest in the wider Comedy genre, how this works worldwide.

Report 2015

At request of the delegates we continued to keep the doors closed for media. Media were welcome to attend and participate in the discussions, but we asked them not to report on what was said in order to enable attendees to speak freely. Though we would like to share information, we feel a lot of the content discussed is more valuable within the context of the day and we would encourage Comedy professionals to attend and participate in person. The photo gallery can viewed here.